Sealing Apparatus

ABSTRACT

A sealing assembly is provided for creating an airtight seal between a container and a piece of film, A bladder is inflated, which puts upward pressure on a base plate of a Lift assembly. The lift assembly includes downwardly extending arms, and as the base plate is lifted by the inflating bladder, the lift arms lift the container and film into contact or near-contact with a heater plate to seal the film to the container. Deflation of the bladder allows the lift assembly to lower thereby lowering the now-sealed container.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to and incorporates herein by reference U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/503,792 filed on Jul. 1, 2011.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an apparatus for sealing containers and, more particularly, to an apparatus for heat-sealing a laminate film onto a container for storing food therein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various techniques have been used by consumers for storing food and beverages in containers. Some containers use re-sealable lids which may screw or snap onto the container to store foods. Some containers take the form of so-called zipper-top storage bags. However, the sealing ability of such containers is questionable, as leaks often occur. Further, the seal between containers and their closure mechanisms are often gas permeable, allowing the food inside to spoil.

Large companies often use industrial sealing devices that can create an airtight seal between a disposable container and a film that covers the container. However, such technology has been generally unavailable to consumers. As a result, there is a need for a low cost, fully automatic sealing apparatus capable of providing an airtight seal between a container and film which covers a container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention includes a sealing apparatus for sealing a laminate film onto a container. The sealing apparatus includes a bottom housing assembly which may include a drawer which is selectively extendable outwardly from the bottom housing via rails. The bottom housing preferably also includes a container support for holding a container in place. Preferably, the container support also includes a film roll support for supporting a roll of film, and allowing the same to be pulled across the open top of a container which is held by the container support. A film cutter may also be included on the container support for cutting the film from the roll. The film is preferably a laminate film with a non-stick top layer and a bottom layer designed to be sticky when melted. The top layer preferably remains non-stick and unmelted at a temperature at which the bottom layer begins to melt. More preferably, the top layer includes polyester while the bottom layer includes polyethylene.

The present sealing apparatus also includes a lid assembly which is preferably hingedly attached to the bottom assembly for pivoting the lid assembly between an open and closed position with respect to the bottom housing. The lid assembly preferably includes a lift assembly haying a base plate and lift arms for lifting the container support. A bladder is preferably located under the base of the lift assembly, and may be inflated by a bladder pump to lift the lift assembly. The bladder pump is preferably controlled by a microcontroller which detects the pressure within the bladder. The microcontroller may also detect other variables such as the distance traveled by the lift assembly as it is lifted or lowered by the bladder. The lid assembly also preferably contains a heater plate.

In operation, the drawer is pulled at least partially out of the bottom assembly, and a container is placed in the container support. A food or beverage is placed in the container, and film from the film roll which is rotatably mounted on the film roll support is extended up and over the top of the container. The container support may have pads associated therewith which help hold the film temporarily in place. The drawer is then slid back into the bottom assembly.

The lift arms of the lift assembly are preferably angled inwardly toward the bottom end of the lift arms. As the drawer containing the container in the container support slides back into the bottom assembly, the left and right sides of the container support slide in horizontally above the inwardly angled portions of the lift arms. The lift arms thereby extend down past the at least a portion of the sides of the container support such as a top edge portion, and the lift arms curve under the same to engage therewith. Alternatively, flanges may extend from the sides of the container support, and the lift arms may engage these flanges.

Upon activation, the heater plate in the lid assembly heats to a desired temperature. Once pre-heated, the bladder pump inflates the bladder. As the bladder inflates, it puts upward pressure on the base plate of the lift assembly, lifting the lift assembly upward. As the lift assembly is lifted, the lift arms are also lifted. Since the lift arms extend down past and under at least a portion of the sides of the container support, the lift assembly thereby lifts the container support (and the container with the film across its top) upwardly until the film comes in contact with the heater plate. The heater plate heats the film to a temperature at which the bottom layer of the film begins to melt and adheres to the container. The top layer of the film, however, remains non-stick and unmelted so that the film does not also stick to the heater plate.

Once the film has adhered to the container, the bladder is deflated, allowing the lift assembly to lower the container support back into place. As the lower layer of the film cools, it solidifies and forms an airtight bond with the container. The film which is adhered to the container may thereafter be cut from the film roll manually, or it may have been automatically cut previously, such as by a wire cutter in the lid assembly during the heating of the film by the heater plate.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a sealing apparatus constructed according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the sealing apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side cress-sectional elevation view of the sealing apparatus of FIG. 1 in its lowered or “off” position.

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional elevation view of the sealing apparatus of FIG. 1 in its raised or “sealing” position.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a container held in the container support according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a smaller container held in the container support as modified with a small container support member according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the sealing apparatus of FIG. 1 in an open position.

FIG. 8A is a side cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a sealing apparatus according to the present invention, in its raised or “off” position.

FIG. 8B is a side cross-sectional view of the sealing apparatus of FIG. 8A in its lowered or “on” position.

It should be understood that the present drawings are not necessarily to scale and that the embodiments disclosed herein are sometimes illustrated by fragmentary views. In certain instances, details which are not necessary for an. understanding of the present invention or which render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should also be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein. Like numbers utilized throughout the various figures designate like or similar parts or structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings and, more particularly, to FIG. 1, a sealing apparatus 1 constructed according to the teachings of one embodiment of the present invention is shown including a lid assembly 2 and a bottom housing assembly 4. The lid assembly 2 includes base control panel 6, while the bottom housing assembly 4 includes a power cord 8, a drawer 10 and a locking member 12. Control panel 6 may include at least one button, LED indicator light, lever, knob, a display screen, a touch screen, or any other suitable structure for turning the sealing apparatus 1 on and/or indicating its status. As can be seen in FIG. 7, lid assembly 2 and bottom housing assembly 4 are preferably hingedly connected to one another toward the back of the sealing apparatus 1. Alternatively, lid assembly 2 and bottom housing assembly 4 may be hingedly connected at a different location, or may be permanently connected, or may be selectively disengageable from one another. Locking member 12 is preferably operable to prevent the lid assembly 2 from being opened or disengaged from the bottom housing assembly 4 during operation of the sealing apparatus 1 as discussed in detail below.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, bottom housing assembly 4 includes rails 14 which allow drawer 10 to selectively slide at least partially out from the front of bottom housing assembly 4. Drawer 10 is preferably sized and shaped to receive and support a container support 16. Container support 16 preferably includes support member 18 which is designed to receive and support a container 24. Container support 16 preferably also includes film roll support 20 for holding a roll of film (not shown), one or more pads 22 for temporarily helping to hold the film in place at the front of the container support 16 once it has been extended over the container 24 before sealing, and a film retainer member 26 for holding the film in place at the back of the container support 16. Film roll support 20 may include opposing support brackets between which a roll of film can be positioned for rotatable support.

In operation, a user pulls drawer 10 out from bottom housing assembly 4. Container support 16 rests within drawer 10 such that withdrawing drawer 10 also causes container support 16 to be withdrawn from bottom housing assembly 4. The user then places food or beverage in a container 24, and places the container 24 into container support 16. The user then pulls a layer of film from the roll of film supported by film roll support 20 at the rear of the container support 16, and extends the layer of film over top of the container 24. As noted above, container support 16 may include pads 22, which are preferably made of a material which temporarily assists in retaining the film in place upon contact between the film and the pads 22. The user then pushes the drawer 10 (and container support 16 and container 24) back into bottom housing assembly 4.

As can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lid assembly 2 of sealing apparatus 1 includes a bladder 30 positioned below a lift assembly 32. A pump 34 is in fluid communication with bladder 30 to inflate bladder 30. Lift assembly 32 includes at least one lift arm 36, and preferably a plurality of lift arms such as the six lift arms 36 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The top end of lift arm 36 is preferably connected to a base plate of lift assembly 32. Further, each lift arm 36 preferably extends downwardly and, at its lower end, engages with the container support 16 to lift container support 16. More preferably, the lower end of each lift arm 36 extends under at least a portion of container support 16 or a flange thereon to lift container support 16. At least one lift guide post 38 is also provided in lid assembly 2, as well as a heater plate 40 and a controller 42. Controller 42 is preferably in electrical communication with heater plate 40, pump 34 and control panel 6.

In operation, a container 24 is placed in container support 16 and film is extended over container 24. Once the drawer 10 is closed, container 24 and container support 16 reside within the sealing apparatus 1. While inside bottom housing assembly 4, at least a portion of container support 16 is positioned above the lower end of at least one lift arm 36, such that the lower end of at least one lift arm 36 extends under a portion of container support 16. A cutoff may prevent the sealing apparatus 1 from energizing when the drawer 10 is open and/or when lid assembly 2 is open.

A user can then activate the sealing apparatus 1 via control panel 6. Controller 42 then causes pump 34 to inflate bladder 30. The inflation of bladder 30 causes the bladder 30 to press upwardly on the base plate of lift assembly 32, thereby raising lift assembly 32. Lift assembly 32 is guided so as to lift substantially vertically by at least one lift guide post 38. FIG. 3 illustrates the sealing apparatus 1 in its “off” or “lowered” position, while FIG. 4 illustrates the sealing apparatus 1 in its “on” or “raised” or “sealing” position. FIG. 3 illustrates three lift arms 36 positioned on the far side of container support 16 such that the container support blocks the view of much of lift is 36. FIG. 4 illustrates three lift arms 36 positioned on the near side of container support 16 such that the lift arms 36 in FIG. 4 are more visible than those shown in FIG. 3. However, it will be understood that a plurality of far and near lift arms 36 may be included in the same sealing apparatus 1, as needed or desired.

As lift assembly 32 raises, the at least one lift arm 36 engages with container support 16 and simultaneously lifts the container support 16 as shown in FIG. 4. The container support 16, and thereby container 24 with a layer of film thereon, are brought into proximity with heater plate 40 such that the heat from heater plate 40 causes the film to bond with container 24. Proximity with the heater plate 40 may be direct contact with heater plate 40 such that container 24 presses the film thereover onto heater pad 40. Alternatively, heater pad 40 may produce enough radiant heat to cause the film to bond with or seal to container 24 without direct physical contact therebetween.

Preferably, heater plate 40 is pre-heated prior to the activation of pump 34 by the activation of at least one rope heater (not shown) by controller 42. Alternatively, a mica heater, a CalRod® heater, a film heater, or other suitable heater may be used. Controller 42 preferably monitors at least one of the pressure within bladder 32, the position of lift assembly 32, and the position of container support 16, and can cause further inflation or deflation of bladder 30 based thereon to effectuate proper sealing of the film to container 24. A pressure sensor and/or one or more position sensors may supply pressure and/or position information to the controller 42 for monitoring of same. Sealing apparatus 1 may have more than one setting by which the user may adjust features such as the heater plate 40 temperature, the sealing time, and/or the pressure between the container 24, the film and heater plate 40.

After sealing has occurred, the controller 42 causes the bladder 30 to deflate, thereby allowing the lift assembly 32 and container support 16 to lower back into their “off” positions. A user may then at least partially withdraw drawer 10 from bottom housing assembly 4 and remove the sealed container 24 therefrom.

The film is preferably a laminated film comprised of at least two layers, but this is not meant to be limiting, as other films or a paper layer may be used. A bottom layer of the laminated film is designed to seal with or bond to the container 24, and is therefore preferably composed of a material that will at least partially melt at a temperature produced by heater plate 40. In an example embodiment, the bottom layer is polyethylene. A top layer is designed so as not to seal or bond to the heater plate 40, and is therefore composed of a material that will not melt when heated to the temperature at which the bottom layer melts. In an example embodiment, the top layer is polyester. Additional layers may also be incorporated into the film.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example embodiment of container support 16 and a standard sized container 24. However, different sized containers may be used. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a small container 25 is housed within container support 16. in order to properly support the small container 25, a selectively removable small container support 28 may be added to the container support 16 for engagement therewith. Small container support 28 may include its own tabs 22. Adding the small container support 28 creates a smaller area into which container support 16 may receive a container 24, 25.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a sealing apparatus 1 in which lid assembly 2 has been hingedly opened with respect to bottom housing. assembly 4. This open position may allow for cleaning of the inside of sealing apparatus 1. As noted above, locking member 12 is preferably operable to prevent the lid assembly 2 from being opened or disengaged from the bottom housing assembly 4, and/or from preventing drawer 10 from being opened, such as during operation of the sealing apparatus 1, as discussed above. FIG. 7 also illustrates a heated wire cutter 44 which may be used to cut the piece of film used to seal a container 24, 25 from the roll of film. Other methods for cutting the film from the roll may also be employed, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

In another embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the heater plate 140 may be slidingly mounted on a plurality of vertical posts 138 which extend downward from lid assembly 2. Heater plate 140 may be movable between “raised” and “lowered” positions. In such an embodiment, the heater plate 140 is preferably biased into the “raised” position using springs and the like (not shown). The heater plate 140 may then be urged into the “lowered” position by inflation of the bladder 130. As the container support 16 and container 24 are not lifted toward the heater pad 140 in this embodiment, the lift assembly 32 and lift arms 36 of the previous embodiment may be eliminated. In operation, the container 24 is placed in a container support 16 that rests within drawer 10. Once the drawer 10 is closed, container 24 and container support 16 reside below the heater plate 140. Since the heater plate 140 is biased toward the “raised” position, the heater plate 140 is not initially in proximity with the film extended over the container 24, as shown in FIG. 8A. A user can then activate the device with control panel 6.

Controller 142 then causes pump 134 to inflate bladder 130. The inflation of bladder 130 causes the bladder 130 to press downwardly on heater plate 140 causing heater plate 140 to come into proximity with the film extended over the container 24. The heater plate 140 is brought into proximity with the film such that the heater plate 140 causes the film to bond with the container 24, as shown in FIG. 8B. The operation of the heater plate 140 and pump 134 by controller 142 is described above in the previous embodiment. After sealing has occurred, the controller 142 causes the bladder 130 to deflate, thereby allowing the heater plate 140 to move back to the “raised” position.

Thus, there has been shown and described several embodiments of a novel sealing apparatus.

As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. The terms “having” and “including” and similar terms as used in the foregoing specification are used in the sense of “optional” or “may include” and not as “required”. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A sealing apparatus for sealing a film onto a container, the sealing apparatus comprising: a container support for receiving the container therein; a lift assembly including a base plate and at least one lift arm, said at least one lift arm engaging the container support for lifting the container support; a heating plate; an inflatable bladder positioned below the lift assembly; and a pump in fluid communication with the inflatable bladder for inflating the inflatable bladder; wherein inflation of the bladder causes the bladder to press upwardly on the base plate to lift the lift assembly, wherein the upward movement of the lift assembly causes the at least one lift arm to lift the container support such that heat from the heating plate seals the film to the container.
 2. The sealing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the container support includes a selectively removable small container support for supporting a small container therein.
 3. The sealing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one lift arm engages with at least one flange on the container support.
 4. The sealing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one lift arm connects to the base plate at an upper end, and extends under at least a portion of the container support at a lower end to engage with and lift the container support upon inflation of the bladder.
 5. The sealing apparatus of claim 4 further including: a drawer housing the container support, said drawer being at least partially selectively removable from a lower housing assembly, wherein removal of the drawer from the lower housing assembly exposes the container support, and wherein replacement of the drawer within the lower housing assembly positions at least a portion of the container support over the lower end of the at least one lift arm.
 6. The sealing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the heating plate is heated by at least one rope heater.
 7. The sealing apparatus of claim 1 wherein a controller controls the pump to effectuate inflation and deflation of the bladder.
 8. The sealing apparatus of claim 7 wherein the controller receives pressure readings of pressure within the bladder from at least one pressure sensor.
 9. The sealing apparatus of claim 7 wherein the controller receives input from a sensor which detects the position of one of the lift assembly, the container support and the container.
 10. The sealing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the heating plate seals the film to the container after the container support is raised such that the film is pressed against the heating plate by the container.
 11. The sealing apparatus of claim 1 wherein heat from the heating plate seals the film to the container when the container support is raised and the film and container are sufficiently close to the heating plate.
 12. The sealing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the film is a laminated film.
 13. The sealing apparatus of claim 12 wherein a bottom layer of the film is composed of a material which melts at a temperature which the heating plate is capable of producing so as to bond with the container, and a top layer of the film is composed of a material which does not melt at the temperature.
 14. The sealing apparatus of claim 13 wherein the top layer is polyester and the bottom layer is polyethylene.
 15. The sealing apparatus of claim 1 further including a film roll support for holding a roll of film.
 16. The sealing apparatus of claim 15 further including a mechanism for cutting a piece of film from the film roll during the sealing process.
 17. The sealing apparatus of claim 16 wherein said mechanism for cutting a piece of film from the film roll includes a heated wire cutter.
 18. A system for sealing a container comprising: a container support receiving a container therein; a pump inflating a bladder, where the inflation of the bladder causes the bladder to expand and press upwardly on a base plate of a lift assembly; the lift assembly including at least one lift arm engaging with the container support and lifting the container support upon inflation of the bladder; a heating plate sealing a film to the container after upward movement of the container support, the container and the film into proximity with the heating plate.
 19. A system for sealing a container comprising: a container; a heating plate movable between raised and lowered positions and biased into the raised position; a pump inflating a bladder, wherein the inflation of the bladder causes the bladder to expand and press downwardly on the heating plate to cause the heating plate to move to the lowered position into proximity of the container to seal a film to the container.
 20. The system of claim 19 wherein the film includes a paper layer. 